Dieter Meier and Christian Frei Return to Zurich Film Festival with World Premieres
Two former jury members and Swiss filmmakers will return to the Zurich Film Festival with their latest film projects: on Saturday, September 26, 2009, multi-talented Dieter Meier will present the director’s cut of his fantasy feature film The Lightmaker, in which he embodies the character Balthasar and worked behind the scenes as the film’s director, producer, screenplay writer and composer. Oscar® nominated director Christian Frei will premiere his latest documentary film Space Tourists in Zurich on Friday, October 2, 2009. Both films will be shown in the Zurich Film Festival’s Out of Competition series and will be screened in the cinema corso’s theatre 1.
Dieter Meier was a member of the International Feature Film Competition jury at the 3rd Zurich Film Festival in 2007 and Christian Frei was a member of last year's International Documentary Film Competition jury.
Seen in the Panorama section of the Berlinale in 2001, Meier re-shot several scenes for the Director's Cut of The Lightmaker.
Christian Frei will be accompanied to the Zurich Film Festival by the US American space tourist Anousheh Ansari and the magnum photographer Jonas Bendiksen, who photographs people collecting rocket debris falling onto Kazakh ground. Frei, Ansari and Bendiksen will be available for a photocall in front of the festival tent (next to the Odeon café) on Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 12:00 noon. Following the world premiere screening of Space Tourists on Friday, October 2 at 21:00, the audience can join Frei, Ansari and Bendiksen for the After Party at the Seefeld Razzia (post 23:00). Following a further screening of the film on Sunday, October 4, 2009, Christian Frei will speak about his work on Space Tourists in a public Zurich Master Class in the cinema corso's theatre 4.
The Lightmaker_World Premiere of the Director's Cut with Director Dieter Meier on September 26, 2009, 18:30, cinema corso's theatre 1
Short Summary_When little Billy becomes curious about the strange viola d`amore, old Balthasar tells him the magical tale of the lightmaker. Its hero is Rumo, a young violinist from New York, who was lured into Duke Osso's underground kingdom by Balthasar. His task there was to play the violin until light returned to the crystal, which provided Osso's kingdom with its life energy. His efforts are rewarded with the promise of Princess Mira's hand in marriage, The Swiss-born, multi-talented Dieter Meier began this visually and acoustically rich parable about power, music and love back in 1988. The end result is a modern fantasy fairytale for adults, the complex structure of which has been synthesised into a unique piece of art by Meier.
Dieter Meier_ Dieter Meier founded the band Yello together with Boris Blank in 1971. It was regarded as the pioneer of electronic pop music and contributed to numerous film soundtracks. Yello received the city of Zurich's art prize in 1997. Dieter Meier is well known for creating the independent visual worlds found in his countless music videos.
Space Tourists_World Premiere with Director Christian Frei, Accompanied by Anousheh Ansari and Jonas Bendiksen on October 2, 2009, 21:00, cinema corso - Public Zurich Master Class on October 4, 11:00, cinema corso's theatre 4
Short Summary_In his most recent work, Christian Frei turns to an age-old dream of man: to leave our planet as a „normal person" and travel into outer space. For 20 million dollars, the American Anousheh Ansari was able to fulfil this childhood dream. This documentary follows her journey and shows everyday life as it is on an international space station. This terrific beauty is set in contrast to the crazy trips taken by Kazakh rocket debris collectors in their hunt for the coveted carrot-shaped rocket stages, which literally fall out of the sky and are collected by men with trucks the size of dinosaurs. With breathtaking images, Space Tourists takes its audience into a fascinating world full of surprises and includes encounters with people we would never expect to meet and places stranger and less known than outer space.
Christian Frei_Born 1959 in Schönewerd, canton Solothurn, Christian Frei has worked as a freelance filmmaker and producer since 1984. He has realised various short films, numerous commissioned productions and works for Swiss Television's „DOK" series. He created his first cinema documentary film Ricardo, Miriam Y Fidel in 1997. War Photographer followed in 2001, which won numerous awards and an Oscar® nomination for Best Documentary Film in 2002. Frei realised The Giant Buddhas in 2005. His documentary film Space Tourists, about space tourism, will hit Swiss cinemas on October 15, 2009. Frei is a lecturer at the University of St. Gallen and president of the Federal Office of Culture's documentary film committee. He lives and works in Zurich.
